Message in a Bottle
by mabelreid
Summary: One shot set after the season 14 finale. Reid decides to take a short vacation to the Maine woods, and disappears. He writes a letter to Penelope explaining where he is and why he has to stay away.


**_Disclaimer: see my profile _**

**_A/n this is a short one shot that I came up with after listening to a short story on tape. It's a bit of science fiction and fantasy rolled into one. Please enjoy. _**

_August, 2019_

_Dear Penelope,_

_I'm sure you're wondering why I'm directing this missive to you. I'm not sure why. I have no rational way of determining when or if this will reach your eyes. If it doesn't, then I hope that one day someone will find it and the mystery of my sudden disappearance will have a satisfactory explanation. I know you'll find it ironic that I attempted to contact you by message in a bottle because you are the goddess of all things digital, but I have no other means of possible communication. I am lost – literally. _

_Permit me to start at the beginning, Penelope. On February 7__th__, 2019, I came to the decision that I needed a break from everything, from the team, my mother, my entire existence. As you'll no doubt remember, it was the day after Dave and Krystall's wedding and the day after our case involving the Truth or Dare Killer. God, I hated the names the press gives men who destroy the lives of so many people, and yet I use the name. Sorry, I'm off on a tangent, but I know it gives you comfort to read it because I'm famous for my useless trivia and tangent's, right? Are you smiling, yet, Penelope?_

_Okay, I'll move on with my story. That morning after I called Emily and told her that I needed time off, I made reservations at Pine Haven, a colonial style hotel in Maine, that's reputed to be haunted. I'm sure that when I disappeared the team tracked me there and that's where the trail went cold. I know that you all thought it was strange that I'd go off to a "cabin in the woods," but I couldn't resist the call of the wild, as it were. I needed to leave the city behind and go back to nature. Now, I know what that call was, but that's for later in the story. _

_I arrived there just after 1 pm the next day. Fortunately, my flight to Bangor and picking up my rental car went smoothly. The weather held until I arrived, and I thought that my luck was finally turning. Penelope, you can't imagine the beauty of the woods in the middle of winter. The stark contrast of green pines, the pure white snow, the shades of greys and blacks from denuded deciduous plants and trees, and the pewter sky overhead that heralds the coming of a tempest. Oh, what a storm it was, Penelope. It began an hour after I arrived and snowed without stopping for an entire day. I hope one day, you'll experience as I did, how relaxing it can be to stay warm inside with hot coffee, and a few good books to read during such a display of natures power. I know that you tried to call me, and I didn't answer. For that, I am so very sorry, but I hope you understand and that you forgive me. I just couldn't face talking to anyone, especially you because you always know how to extract my secrets. _

_The following day after the snow stopped, I decided to go for a walk. Here is where my tale becomes difficult to believe, but I swear it is the truth. Morgan would say it's incredibly stupid to go walking in the woods alone, in the middle of winter after a storm, but I couldn't help myself. When I woke up that morning and saw the sun shining on the snow like someone scattered polished diamonds over the white blanket, I was enchanted. I put on my warmest clothing, a pair of hiking boots, and my gloves, scarf, and coat. When I went down the stairs to the lobby, a nice older lady manned the check-in counter and she said that most of the residents had caught the shuttle that ran to the nearest ski resort, but if I wanted to wait for the next instead of driving my own car – well I said no and that I wanted to take a walk. _

_She frowned at me and her eyes went cool. "Sir, it's not a good idea to walk in these woods alone, especially after a heavy snowstorm. There is only one path kept open by the park service, and they won't have had time to clear it after this last storm."_

"_I know," I assured her. "Perhaps, I'll walk along the road." _

_Her eyes shifted again, and I was about to ask her why she looked so concerned, when a family, talking loudly and laughing as they entered with ski gear, interrupted our conversation. "Sorry, to interrupt, but has the shuttle left," asked a man wearing a bright green ski cap with a black ski suit._

"_Yes, sir. Due to the road conditions, he won't return for a good half hour." _

_During the arguing and the blaming that erupted from the teenagers and adults in the group, I left and made my way into the white beauty of the morning. Penelope, it was so dazzling to the eyes, I was glad for the sunglasses you bought me for Christmas. It was biting cold, around twenty degrees, but I didn't mind. I had my scarf and a toasty warm ski suit that Morgan sent me as a joke. My gloves, boots, and hat were enough to keep me from the danger of frostbite. I intended only a short walk, but something pulled on my mind like a magnet and I turned away from the parking lot and toward the trees behind the hotel. _

_I heard a bird singing in the forest, but I'm not sure what species because I never saw it. The song was sweet, like honey on toasted bread and I thought of Gideon for the first time in years. I thought he'd like to be there to hear it and that he could tell me what kind of bird called on the freezing wind that chilled my cheeks and lips. I stepped off the blacktop and into the new snow. It was deep and slow going but I made it through to the tree line and then into the pines. They closed around me and suddenly the bird stopped singing and everything went silent._

_I looked around and noticed that something shimmered faintly in the distance about fifty yards to my left. I should have been frightened by the silence, and I think part of me was because my mouth went dry and my hands began to shake, but then I heard something like a low humming that vibrated in my ears and made me feel lightheaded and strange. Penelope, this is where my tale verges into the fantastic, but I swear on the lives of our godchildren, it is true. I stood staring at the shimmer in the distance, and then it was like something grabbed me and yanked me forward. Only a second passed and I stood directly in front of the shimmer. It was so close I could reach out and touch it. I had traveled fifty yards without taking a conscious step. I have no idea, even after six months how they made it happen. The force tugged me again but gentler as a father might tug a child away from a toy store. I suddenly knew that it was my choice to step through the shimmer or to turn and walk away. _

_I took a step forward and – Penelope I was in a different world. I looked like our planet, but the snow was gone. I stood in an open space with green grass under my feet. My outdoor wear had disappeared as had my boots and socks. I could feel the texture of the dirt and grass on the soles of my feet, and it was like standing on silk. Penelope, have you ever seen a natural emerald? The grass under my feet looked like polished natural emeralds and the flowers – my god, they were so brilliant in color, they hurt my eyes. The sky was sapphire blue, and without a single cloud. There were pines, elms, birches, oaks, redwoods, and every other species of tree you can imagine, ringing the meadow. I think I even saw a deer and heard the same birds singing as a squirrel dashed up to my feet and sat staring at me as if it might speak. _

"_Welcome, Dr. Spencer Reid," said a musical voice that startled me into stumbling back, and nearly falling. _

_I looked to my right and saw the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I can't describe her except to say that she was at least three inches taller than me, with eyes the color of the sky, hair so golden, it outshone even the sun. Her face was a perfect heart shape and her lips the color of rubies. She wore a white gown with a golden band on her head. She reminded me of a statue of the Goddess Venus I once saw in an art book. I was so stunned, I couldn't speak. _

"_You've been chosen to join us," she said and gestured to other men and women – I call them that because I don't have words for what they truly are – who came out of the trees and across the meadow. _

"_Who are you?" I tried to ask, but my voice cracked, and I could barely say the words. _

"_You don't have to speak," said the woman and I realized that she wasn't communicating with her mouth, but the words were in my head. "Who we are isn't important now. You have joined us freely. Come, be with us and add your talents to ours." _

_I went because I had no choice, and truly, Penelope, I didn't want to leave this world. It is so beautiful and peaceful. There are no wars, disease, poverty or hunger. Everyone has what they need, and everyone is healthy, happy and harmonious. There are other ordinary human men and women here. They all tell the same story of encountering the shimmer at a time in their lives when they were at an emotional crossroads. Some of them have taken wives or husbands from this tribe of superhumans, as we call them, and have children with them. _

_Penelope, I decided to try and reach out to you with this letter because I know you're looking for me. Please stop. I'm fine, better than fine, I am – well there is no word for it. Please tell everyone that I love them, and this is what I want. Soon, I will marry Lucia, the woman who greeted me when I stepped into this world. Lucia said that when one of their tribe wishes for their soulmate, they appear whether superhuman or ordinary human. She said that we are beholden to the gods. Perhaps she is right. She says that one day, when I am ready, I will meet the gods of their people and they will bless us. _

_Be happy for me._

_Spencer._

Garcia finished reading the letter aloud to the team. Her voice quavered at the end and tears dripped from her eyes as they all went very quiet for a long time.

"Did he lose his mind, and freeze to death out there?" Rossi asked.

"No," Luke said. "If he had, wouldn't they have found a body."

"Not if the animals got to it," Tara said and grimaced.

"Reid isn't crazy, and he'll come back," JJ said. "He'd never leave us without saying goodbye. He just needs time."

Emily nodded slowly, "I think JJ is right. He'll come back."

Matt simply turned and walked away from the group. He pulled his phone from his pocket and made a call as he reached his desk. "Hey, Kirsten. Yeah, we finally found something, but it's not good."

Rossi stayed behind and gestured to Emily as the others wandered away and back to the work that never seemed to end. "Do you really think he's coming back?"

"No," Emily said. "I think he's gone for good. Everyone has their breaking point and I think Spence reached his after the Truth or Dare case six months ago."

"JJ's in denial." Rossi worried.

Emily nodded and sighed. "I know, but there's nothing we can do about it. She'll have to work through it. She made a huge mistake, Dave. There's no coming back from it, and now she has to live with it."

"Yeah, regrets are a bitch. I'm glad I had a second chance with mine, but not all of us are so lucky."

"You're right."

"Emily?" Rossi called as she began to walk away. "What about the bottle that carried his letter? My sources tell me it was made from a material that they've never seen, a type of glass that's indestructible."

Emily frowned and shook her head. "Don't know, they said it disapeared from the lab, but I wonder."

Rossi shrugged and began to follow her. "I think it's best not to follow your line of thought too far down the rabbit hole."

"You're right," Emily agreed, and after staring at Spencer's face on the memorial wall, she followed Rossi back to the bullpen and back to work.

_**THE END**_


End file.
